Leaders Discuss Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict; Kerry Expresses 'Strong Concern'

September 05, 2014

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has expressed "strong concern" to the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan over recent violence around the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Kerry met with Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian and Azerbaijani Presidentt Ilham Aliyev on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Wales.

They discussed efforts to resolve the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh after "the deadliest period in the conflict since the 1994 cease-fire took effect," a State Department statement said.

Exchanges of gunfire early last month killed more than 20 people.

Azerbaijan claims Nagorno-Karabakh as part of its territory, but the region has been occupied and administered by pro-Armenian forces for some 20 years.

Kerry urged both sides to respect the cease-fire, which has frequently been violated, and to work with the Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to resolve the conflict.